


The flower that wished to face the sun

by gayshina



Category: Original Work
Genre: (I guess?) - Freeform, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Aromantic, Blood and Gore, Cyberpunk, Disabled Character of Color, Family Feels, Female Character of Color, Foreshadowing, Killer Robots, Korean Characters, Male Character of Color, Original Character Death(s), POV First Person, Secret Organizations, Steampunk, Strong Female Characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-15
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-08-31 06:05:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8566810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayshina/pseuds/gayshina
Summary: Maia Fleming is a fourteen year old who has to yet face the outside world. She may have had faced it, but as far as her earliest memories go, she hasn't.Trapped in her own house by strict and almost always absent parents, whom she feels that they are watching every single one of her step and her movements, she makes a huge step in her life; to leave her house. What does the future hold for Maia?





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'll be trying to write this and updates will be inconsistent. It's inspired by my thoughts and my favourite genres, also a good book I had read before.

After a long day in school, I had arrived finally to my home. The weather was very cold and I was freezing, my little hands numb from the winter's chilly air. I dropped my black leather bag on the floor near the umbrellas my parents and I had, which were soaked from yesterday. How can the weather change so rapidly? It's so strange to think about it, really. But it didn't really matter. Today was Friday, 21st of December, 2033. It was the last day of school for me and then, Christmas break. I hope my parents will have time this year to spend it with me.

But then, when did I ever see them? My mom was pretty, my dad was too, or so I think. She had long auburn hair and she looked professional... according to pictures. My dad was tall and he looked kind of rugged. Again, according to pictures, some with sepia filter and some with not. Pictures where I wasn't even present, between them two.

Last Christmas I was by the Christmas tree which I had set up on my own. I'm so lucky I actually hadn't fallen from the marble stairs, it was too heavy for me to drag out from the attic. I was covered in blooming purple bruises, brightly colored bandages and bloody red scratches that healed with time. After I had managed to put it on the living room, knocking back a few vases and some pictures - my parents with my own parents, them by themselves, old pictures with the sepia filter I was so used to seeing by now and my own pictures - who I had to sweep up the glasses. I had cut my fingers too, watching my own blood trickle down my fingertip and cover my nail with my brown eyes, but was snapped out of my trance, since I stepped on glass with my socks.

I had decorated the tree, I was all wrapped up with an old blanket and the heaviest clothing I could manage to wear and watched all the pretty lights in the dark, the digital clock's red numbers showing 0:00, meaning it was Christmas. Another Christmas without my parents, all the books I had and DVD covers near me as I had fallen asleep on the cold black marble floor of my living room. My parents had returned, but they were sleeping. I don't remember seeing them at all, I never had blanks in my memory, I was a healthy child.

But it didn't matter now. I couldn't wait to go in my room, which was an absolute mess, trash, clothing dirty or not, video games and filthy socks. Boots, shoes, old books, all strewn out. My console lay on my bed, my video games on the white blanket that was draped over it. I connect all of the cables necessary to the twelve year old TV I had, I'm lucky that I had managed to get this old stuff to work. I guess time alone made me learn how to repair things, learn coding, all the fun stuff a kid that stays in their home almost all the time knows. The summer evenings where my black flipflops would be next to me and I'd unscrew ports, either belonging to the TV, or to my laptop or to the DVD player and replace them. Or when I had changed the programming in my school's website so it'd redirect to this one Rick Roll video. Fun times, to see all the kids go to the only human in this school aside the students themselves to complain to the principal. An old lady who would barely live through the next year, my judgement was like that.

I looked at the kitchen, a warm room but it was painfully empty. It was colored of the warm shades of the sunset, the enviroment around me being the shades of the early sunrise as a comparison. Wooden chairs, wooden table, everything was of wood in this room to be fair and even the cupboards, the only silver that gleamed was the kitchen sink, the fridge and the kitchen. There was a white window over the sink that didn't have curtains... I remember there were some lacy white curtains. When where they gone? My head peeked at the room, only a glass of water adorning the table and a paper. A note.

 _Dearest Maia,_ it read.

_Merry Christmas! We will be unable to join you this Christmas. Me and your father are on a business trip in Sicily, Italy. We'll be sure once we return to put the pictures on the fridge and get you many, many souvenirs and presents! Didn't you want that book, a Song of Fire and Ice? We hope to find it in English and not Italian! If not, your dad will translate it for you. Hope you have a great Christmas, baby._

_Your mother and father, Addison and Shaun._

I felt the tears prickle my eyes and come out in hot streams, the warmest waterfalls. I sobbed, wiping my eyes with my sleeve that was stripped blue and white, brown eyes now puffy red from crying. I miss them. I don't even know their names, they had to remind me! Why was it so hard to be with them? I lacked parents, basically. And I was going to make sure I'd lack them a child too. But I don't think both Addison and Shaun cared - I don't want to call them my parents anymore. I rip up the note and throw it on the hard wood floor, exiting the room immediately and slamming the door behind me. My destination was the bathroom first, then my bedroom, and then...

I don't know.

I enter the bathroom, sunset shades again. Sunset, sunset, sunset. I've never seen a sunset before. Everything is so strange. So weird. I don't know. I face the small mirror, my cheeks and tip of my nose red from the cold, brown hair framing my face and falling on my shoulders, dark circles underneath my brown eyes. First was to seperate myself as much as I could from my parents. I take out the scissors from the drawer, the silver scissorblade shining on the orange light. My eyes gleamed like the metal blade did. I grabbed a hold of my hair and cut it, hair strands falling on my boots, my jeans and my shirt. I cut my hands too in accident, hair mixed with blood. I cut everything, as much as I could, looking at myself once more on the mirror.

There were no curls on my shoulders, no curls on my back, my hair had reached my jaw now. I drop the scissors and let the tap run warm water, putting my cold hands that I was afraid would go unresponsive because of the winter's icy weather. Then, I let the water run on my hair, bending my body forwards and held the porcelain sink with my shaking hands, cold surface meeting cold skin. My hands tried to brush my hair, dead hair falling on the sink, afraid that I'd clog it. Luckily, there weren't many. I reached for the soap and messily washed the chestnut strands of hair, whatever could be washed, really. I never bothered with that, I'd always wake up, as if miraculously, with clean hair reeking of lillies and beautiful flowers, all of them.

I raise my head after turning off the tap - the books always told me to turn them off, so we wouldn't waste water, but everybody had us assured we wouldn't have a problem with resources until the sun dies out. My hair looked puffier, looked brighter. That was presentable now and more convinient. I shook my head to dry it out, now my hair a little less wetter, slightly damp, as my cold and frail fingers felt it.

Then, my room was my next destination. I picked up clothing, put them all in a spare bag from elementary school, socks, undergarments and shoes. My video games, my books, everything. I tie my shoes again and I wipe them clean from the hair that I had cut off, alongside my jeans and my shirt. I put on my cap, black gloves and a jade scarf that was a gift apperantly from one of my aunts, a brown jacket that was colored the color of fallen leaves that were slowly withering away and broke under people's boots and heels, sighing deeply to myself. My bag was over my shoulder, then slumped forwards. I open the window of my room with great difficulty since my hands were gloved, additionally it was pretty hard to open up, I guess that was intentional, thick snow coating the city, the ground and everything. It was white and bright, absolutely covering everything.

Three. I open up the window completely. Cold air hits my forehead, my face, my eyes, making me tear up slightly.

Two. I sit up on the window sill. My legs dangle and black boots strike the white wall of my house.

One. I jump and hope for the best.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maia meets the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was supposed to update yesterday!

I land on a pile of thick and fluffy snow, face front. Luckily, my scarf shrouded my face, but I believe that some of the snow must've slipped inside of my jacket and rested on my shoulder which was covered by the fabric of my thin shirt. I wanted to shake it off, but that would require me removing my jacket and revealing myself to the cold, cold weather. And I'd instantly freeze.

But, I was out. Eyes dart around to face what was surrounding me. My neighbourhood was small, yet, it's much more than I've ever seen before. So much more! I get up and brush off the snow that clung to the sleeves of my colorful jacket and gingerly walked about. Slowly, in the fog of the snow, lights began to glimmer. Pink, purple, blue. Cyan too. Colors I never knew.

I stepped on snow and it left my small footsteps on the thick coating, stepping on hard stone - pavement. People I wasn't familiar with, all of them diverse. Slender or not, as white as the snow or the others that contrasted to them with their rich and dark complexion, women and men alike. I blend in successfully as a vaguely confused and strange girl amongst the crowd of the self-assured and confident people, I wasn't even aware of what was going on. I steal glances here and then, I looked at the people, who were either on their phones, group of friends talking to eachother, until I realized - I _was_ away.

_What have you done!_

Their voices - they boom inside of my head and they deafen me, I can hear them clear as day and sharp as the blade of a knife. _No. I will defy. I will defy your rules. I will defy you._

And they stop, as I sigh out. I had slumped forwards and I was nearly crying, trying to get a grip of myself as the people had made a circle around me and looked at me with a gaze that I couldn't describe. "She's weird," A thick accent had called out behind me as the woman circled around me and she walked away from me, clutching a black leather bag in hand. I was weird. _What was I thinking - I could've stayed home-!_

This is all too much for me and I don't know what I am doing. People began to look weird, others looked unnatural and others had a silver gleam - there was no sun, there were no stars, the moon wasn't there, why did they gleam? - or weird lines that went from their forehead, met eye, and then stopped at their chin or weird people - people like me! But they acted inhumanly and I think I was pretty darn real, wasn't I? I had no lines, I had a few scars of acne in my right cheek and I wasn't silver or tinted with other pretty colors. I observe their movements, my shoulder resting on the traffic lights which I never knew of. Red and green, stop and go. Interesting. Why was that there anyway?

The first weird person has purple hair that is darker on the roots and has a few stitches on their neck, holding a guy's hand who seemed to drool over the purple haired person. As they pass by me, I notice the purple haired person's glare - _cold_. As cold as this weather was. I could've sworn that red flashed in the pools of green. Their neck didn't have stitches, no, the head was severed and it connected to the neck via steel, lights on it pulsing, wires connected almost perfectly and a few other things that I wasn't familiarized with.

I jump out of my skin when I notice that the purple haired person's head had turned exactly the wrong way and still looked at me as it disappeared into the distance, the guy still drooling over the ... person? Whatever was it, I've had no idea what kind of a person was that.

The next person was even scarier. Their skin was sheet white and they seemed to support an old woman who clenched onto their arm as her life was fading away. They had long legs, hilariously long and dull forest green eyes. There was no white, this person was barely humanoid! The legs, much like the purple haired person's, were made of steel and I could see everything. Down to the delicate craft of their legs and how I noticed that yes, there were knees, or at least a replica of them, to the spaces left between pieces of steel. They were absolutely white, white like this snow and bright orange hair framing their face. Unlike the purple haired person's hair, which curled on their shoulders and was dark at the roots, this person's hair was just orange. Tuffs of hair flying around.

I could call them pretty if they didn't share the same loveless and unforgiving glare as the other person did. But their legs almost seemed to form into a sharp tipped lance and each step began to make holes on the road and on the white lines that adorned it. I had to run away, I should've ran away ever since I met the other person whose head turned literally 360 degrees to face me and had no neck.

So, I trust my insticts and ran as far as I could. I look back - a big mistake. Red melts into green, I almost cry when I see their glare at me and I feel as if I'm going to die here and I'm going to die here alone. Without my parents, without nobody. 

_This was a mistake this was a mistake what have I done-_

I run and I hear my heartbeat thump in my ears, it's drumming is so wild I feared. I pass through a few brick buildings, I'm almost going to slip and fall on the frosty and hard ground, the lights around me blurring. Hot pink, yellow, orange. _I don't want to die I don't want to die-_

Cats argue with each other, cats jumping over trashcans and the drip of water on puddles of water and newspapers, cartons of discarded appliances too. I needed to distance myself from them.

Eventually, I slow down, my heart threatening to jump out of my ribcage and fall in front of me. I think if that were to happen, I'd probably live, considering all I've faced now. Maybe I'm like them too. I don't know what I am right now, only my name and who I am, what I've done. I don't know my parents.

I finally find comfort in an empty backstreet where there were a few cartons and newspaper, damp with water and humidity, crumbling to my knees as if I were marble and the pillar was destroyed. I was so tired, I just needed to close my eyes, just a little bit, so it'd stop.

I cover myself with the ruined newspaper, maybe ink ran and trickled down the sleeves of my jacket, but it didn't matter. It was chilly, very chilly, I trembled. I curled up to myself and I laid my head against the damp paperboard, my hair getting now slightly wet. Water and sweat blend with tears and the bitter mix seeps through my lips. My teeth were rattling and I felt like they'd break if that kept going, but I lull myself into a dark and dreamless dream.


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maia meets people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit cards don't exist anymore, so there are unique security codes that change consistently. Usually, cyborgs do the work.

I sit up groggily, rubbing my eyes that were wet with tears and the water that fell on my face, making it cold. It was night already, it stopped snowing and it was cold. The night was absolutely dark, save for some white streetlamps and bright orange ones, also the lights of the tall buildings and nightclubs. The nightlife was lively too. I was foreign to that, however.

I stood up and stretched my arms which were in pain, after all, I had slept in a painful position. 

But the city was painfully... empty. No people roamed around and it made me feel at unease. So, I kept striding forwards, looking at all the lights, who gave me a sense of comfort, almost. I think I had gone outside of the populated part, it seemed, but there were houses, clothes hanging from balconies, lights open and curtains closed. Strange. Maybe something big happened and nobody is here? Why would they leave their lights open, then? To not forget where they lived? That was illogical in all senses.

I got lost at some point - I'm sure of it, until I saw a figure that was positively feminine picking at an ATM. I was at the directly opposite pavement, so I walked over to her and looked over her shoulder. She seemed to try and break the security code that protected the ATM and didn't let her from getting money. Slowly, I pat her shoulder, making her turn to me in shock.

Her eyes were bright golden and her hair midnight black, falling over her shoulders and her back, a small and rather unnecessary bun neatly atop her head. The lower part of her face was covered with a surgical white mask, maybe she did it for anonymosity? After all, there was the sensor light that would go off once the ATM would be corrupted, manually or with the use of a laptop. "W-What are you doing?" She stuttered out once I looked up to the sensor light, it gleamed red and shone, blending with the white light that the place where it had been put in. "Don't look at it directly dammit!" I push her off slightly, making her gasp in disbelief and mostly in how the security alarm didn't go off. Subconsciously, I type out a code, that I didn't know off.

_637-31-189_

_Please select the amount of money you desire,_ yellow text on teal background. She gasped, her hand hovering over the button to select 200 dollars. "How... How did you figure it out? I've been here for ages and you come here like this was _nothing!_ " I looked at her when she made her selection, getting the money that would come out from the machine, then she held me by my arm and walked away, to not get caught.

"Who even are you?" The masked girl asked me, putting the money in her blouse's pockets, then strode off to a place where my eyesight only saw fog. "I'm Maia." She probably didn't ask me about what my name is, but she seemed pleased with my response. "Aeri. You don't seem like... you know, them," Them was hinted with malice only. Who could've she meant? The strange people or the normal people? I was unsure whether I was normal or strange. I think I was on the middle of both aspects. "Who?"

She stops at her tracks and looks at me strangely. "The cyborgs, obviously. I mean, you're kind of weird," Here it comes. "But in a good way. Where do you live, though? You seem painfully young."

"I actually ran away." Her face twisted with sadness as she patted my head, pushing back the beanie. "I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe you'd like to join us?"

Join? Doesn't she mean come with us? Us? And how many people were _they ?_

"What are you?" Ironically, it's the same question she asked me before. We had reached a place where everything looked out of date, a lot of industries and a clock that seemed to be frozen, not moving. It showed midnight. If it was stopped, then what time was it?

"We're a gang against these robot fuckers. We're three, and with a hacker like you... I can't imagine how powerful we could be!" She was so gleeful about this and seemed so passionate about she was doing. Against robots, though... Weird. What was wrong with them?

"What did they do?" Aeri doesn't dare speak, putting her hands on her hips. "Long short story, we think they kind of skin humans alive and turn them into robots." This made me jump a little, admittedly. "And corrupt them, additionally. Overall? Pretty shit. Nobody knows who's tugging the strings, but with your assistance... maybe we'd know."

Aeri stretched and she looked at me. Hazel meets golden and I shrink underneath her intense gaze. What were I supposed to do? Other than team up with them... Was it right? Maybe my parents were behind that - they were the masterminds. Or they died to them. I don't know.

"I'll join you." The mask stretches - she smiled brightly.

I will get to the bottom of this.


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maia meets the gang. It goes well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meant to update on the fourth, then on the fifth, but... I've updated on the sixth.

Aeri held me by my hand and ran towards a more secluded area in hurry. What was she afraid of? At night there was nobody here. Or so it seemed. Azure light seemed to shine down on the slippery pavement and she gasped, making me run down some stairs and leading to a basement door, or something like that.

"Fucking hell! Now they found the time appropiate to police us around?" She shouted, her voice still muffled through the white mask. 

"What are they?" I asked with curiosity and her orange irises fell on me. "Sent by these fuckers, for sure. They just scan the roads I think, don't know the why." She banged her fists against the metal door, having to hide underneath the balcony that seemed to cover us up. They only were on air, didn't seem to get lower. Probably their programming was the reason why. "Open the door, you fuckers!"

The door miraculously and to Aeri's relief, opens, revealing a man that squinted at her with hatred. "Why are you shouting? They'll hear us, come inside." He looked at me briefly and his look, from anger, changed to bewilderment. Maybe I was a new face and they weren't used to it? Perhaps that's the why, but I don't understand. I'm as perfect as Aeri seemed to be, or he seemed to be. We both step inside, our shoes creating footsteps on the clear white floor of the entrance.

The man grabbed Aeri by the arm. "Who is she?" He inquired, but I didn't seem to understand. I had stayed at the door, I hadn't closed it yet. I stayed back to respect their private conversation. "Her name is Maia, or something. She seems to be good with machinery... Maybe she could assist Ashe or something. What do you think?" He turned to face me. His right leg was absolutely steel, whirring and shining against the white light of the room. He took a few closer steps towards me and I pushed myself to the door, closing it in the process.

"Hello," He said calmly. His voice was serene yet stoic. I just waved in response, fear evident in my face. "Oh, this scared you off? Sorry about that. An incident." He was talking about his leg, it seemed. "Oh, it's - it's fine. Sorry to bother you guys, it wasn't really necessary."

"But you'd die out there. We know how life is in the slums. We've lived there, we've seen others too..." A girl with light brown hair that curled and seemed so soft to the touch approached the duo, her hair contrasting with her brown skin. She was round and pretty too. "My name's Ashe, little one. And what aboutcha?"

"Maia. I'm Maia."

"So, little Maia. I'm Seung. This is Aeri-"

"She knows, for fuck's sake, _I_ did find her _!_ "

I couldn't help but chuckle. They seemed all too nice. Maybe that was a nice beginning after all. Aeri described them to me as much as she could - Seung was kind of cold after the incident that occured to him, which was actually a fight and his leg got cut off. Ashe works her way around with machinery and computers and she likes to curl up to Aeri sometimes and sleep with her, but she's pretty lazy. I felt like I couldn't fit in with them, though. They all seemed too peculiar and too unique, I was just too normal to be apart of them.

"Why you'd leave your home, Maia?" Aeri asked once we had reached the room I'd be staying in. Aside the white steel that made the entire basement slash house look mildly uncomfortable, the room was decent, but the wooden floor creaked with humidity. The sheets on the bed were white and the lamp that was on the small bed post slowly flickered, the lightbulb was probably dying out.

"My parents... it's really confusing, I wouldn't want to talk about it as much as I want to." I took the clothing that seemed too big for me from her, undressing myself infront of her. She didn't seem to mind, and even helped me get the clothing on. My baggy, seemingly worn out clothing. Black sweatpants that pooled at my ankles, a black sweater with some revoluntary messages on it, even though from the shirt being washed so much, they - the white letters - began to fade away, that they weren't readable anymore.

"If you don't want to talk about it right now, it's fine. Take as much as time as you need and remember, we are here for you." She pet my damp hair and with a smile, she left, leaving me alone in my cold bed, toes curling on the sheets and absolutely freezing, trembling like a fish.


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What lies beyond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Foreshadowing chapter - you can skip this one, as it'll be put in detail in future chapters.  
> Also, that feeling when last chapter was 800 words UNINTENTIONALLY... god.

The robot's steps were languid and slow, pure steel pressing against white marble. Oh, how the Creator wished to see the white be stained with red... even though blood is such a bother to clean up, really.

"HD82." A voice, clear and loud, boomed from the megaphones surrounding the construct.

"Yes?" It responds, the white mask used as a 'face' shifting into a serene one. It smiled, even though the smile was vaguely creepy - it did not resemble a human in any way. It wasn't human to begin with, just an awful killing machine placed in this world to just wipe off pathetic existences of poor humans that happened to stumble upon Them.

"Cell 283. Blonde, pale woman." The robot awaits for a command. "Skin her." 

"Understood." Just a word was needed for a beep to resound around the empty room, metallic hands shifting from a liquid form, into sharp blades. They said that this was their greatest creation so far, a swift and merciless robotic assassin, unable to feel anything and thus, is why it is second-to-none - yet, at least. But it still kept the horrifically inhumane smile on it's mask - not like it could do anything else but other than smile down to the rotting corpses as they bathed in their own blood.

By the command 'skin her' it understood one thing. That it had passed testing phase and was ready to be released into the actual reality and not this simulated one or just killing off people who resisted against Them. This is what happened to most people, you either got comfortable and loved Them and their products, the how they made life so easy with the blink of an eye you could do a day's work, or, you could resist. Because you know - you know that in order for these almost perfect forms, divine and angelic, people had died. They serve the robots as if everything about them is artificial - down to their hair and emotions, but no. The skin, everything to make a robot more humanlike, was taken by humans, which gave blood and sweat for them to be created.

It slashed down the metal railings that were far too rusty by this point, letting them drop to a damp from humidity and the water that leaked floor. "Hello, Hunter."

"Is it time?" Dark blue eyes looked up at it. It just simply grinned at her and tilted it's head to the side, getting closer and closer, slowly. "Is it?" She asked again. The robot did not answer, as the sharp blades pressed up against her neck.

"It is, Hunter." It responds. It's voice is vaguely feminine, but you could hear the how robotic it sounded, how artificial and how wrong it was compared to an actual human's. When did robots begin replacing humans anyway?

"How do you feel about this, HD82?" Two voices ask. One is Hunter's and the other is subconsciously, it's Creator's. "I can't feel anything about this suitation I have been placed in." Only artificial joy of accomplishing a task.

"HD82. Make sure you don't harm the body at all. The skin can be fixed with some enhancements if needed." The Creator speaks, and it obeys. A swift and clean murder, HD82 replaces the precise Doctor and the precise Surgeon. Sharp blades are shoved into the surrendering woman's mouth, digging and simutaneously cutting everything it could find, as it could elongate and also was sharp at the sides, then it came out. It had guts and intestines on it and blood.

But Hunter hadn't reacted at all. There were tears at her eyes, her head had rolled back and lay against the cold and black wall of the cell and her hands were on her lap. She looked polite even, so, the robot, as a 'kind and human' gesture, forms its arms back into humanoid hands and pets her cheek, while its right hand wiped her tears away.

"I am sorry. But it had to be done." Then, the robot picked up her body, gently letting her head rest against warm metal, thanks to the whirring fan that kept the robot's function in tact.

The body is dropped on an equally white floor as the entire building, everything is white here, the robot quickly learns and adapts to its enviroment. The Creator smiles fondly, their fingers entangling with eachother as long legs were atop eachother. 

"Good. Now, we can begin." The Creator stands up, hair obscuring their face as they put on their blood red googles - how ironic, the robot realizes, everything is red and white for it, strapping the lifeless and limp body of Hunter.

 


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aeri and Seung discuss about Maia. We learn more about our sad and aromantic Korean favourite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More short chapters (fillers, really). The next one might be long, as I couldn't really put Maia in this chapter. So, no favourite Lain-like main character.

"It's not actually that bad, you know." Aeri was next to Seung as they were on the balcony of their 'house' - or what was considered one by this point, facing the city if Aeri got on her tip-toes, while Seung could clearly see bright lights flickering in the distance. "Living with Maia, I mean. She's nice. A change, really. What do you think of her?" Hazel eyes met his own black ones, cold and unforgiving, just like the steel that was used to replace the amputated leg. 

"Are you sure we can trust her? This mistake-"

"I know! I know. And I'm sorry for that. I really am."

Years ago, Aeri had ran into the same suitation with Maia. A homeless girl. They offered her a place in the gang but she proved to be an enemy and was the one that cut off Seung's leg in relatiation. The black haired woman doesn't think she'd ever forget how his face had morphed into one of pure fear as his scream pierced the small room. They were chased off that house anyway, but Ashe believes they're still being watched.

He frowned and with a dismissive look, he glared away. "At least Ashe helped me fix that problem, else I'd have only one leg."

"Hah, yeah."

They sat in silence. The air was cold, but not cold enough for it to bite at your fingertips and make your feet go numb in frost. It was uncomfortable, really. She'd shift a little bit, moving closer to the man. "But still, you haven't told me about her. What is your opinion?" He doesn't answer. His skin had goosebumps and he blinked, unmoving, his glare still at the vibrant lights of the city. "Do you trust her?"

"No, not yet. Until she proves herself worthy, then I will." And after the prolonged silence, he continues. "She reminds me of Nari, you know. I've missed her."

"Your little sister?" He nodded. Nari was a former member of the gang, that is, until they found her dead outside of their house with guts spilling out. She hadn't been skinned, else she'd be missing, but Seung was truly devastated at the loss of his younger sibling. He had a lot of fond memories of her, he and Nari back in their home - back in Korea before they were dragged here with their mother as 'refugees' and how he raised her after their mother got skinned and ripped apart three years after they've come here.

He wishes he had died too. But he wouldn't want Nari to grow up like he did.

"You miss her, don't you?" He nods again. "I know how it is. We all miss her."

"You don't really know about losing a sibling, Aeri." With that, he stepped away. Aeri just sighed, resting her head on her hand. "You're so stupid, God."


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maia wants to leave, but nobody lets this small lady do her thing. But... Maia does what Maia wants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas to everybody that celebrates it. No holiday updates. (:

Me and the rest of the 'gang' had been sitting together in this table, idly discussing. Well, I actually wasn't participating, just listening, even though when Aeri asked me to prove her point I just nodded. That wasn't participation, from what I know.

"Anyway." Seung ended the previous topic, putting his chin on his folded hands. "We need to get money and food to buy for Christmas. Since we have little Maia here, we should celebrate it."

"It's Christmas' Eve, Seung." Ashe corrected him, but he just glared at the dark skinned woman.

"Whatever. I don't celebrate it anyway. Just make it nice and jolly for our little member." A small smile graced his lips - was it because of me? I caught a glance of it, but Aeri just looked bewildered and out of this world. "Alright, so, we need money. In these times, I am not going out."

"I can't go out either! I've got no boots. And Seung can't either."

"Why can't he?" I questioned Ashe's remark, as the mentioned just stared down at the empty mug of coffee that he held. "They know him. Ever since he had his leg amputated. So, he just can't go out without the safety going off and possibly killing him." 

All the people that weren't killed after Their attempt, Aeri explained to me, were on the security system's exceptions. Were they to get close enough to the machine, the safety would go off and successfully kill them, without a sound. This included Seung in it, since he was still standing after Their killing attempt.

"It was less of a killing attempt though." He had stood up to let the ceramic mug stack up in the dirty dishes that Ashe had yet to clean. She really was lazy. "They tried to get our morale down."

"Seung what the fuck ar-"

"It was no killing attempt. That machine should've tried harder to kill me. They just wanted to get rid of me, but they didn't know Ashe's capabilities." He interjected Aeri's protest, making the slim woman sink down onto her chair. "With that being said, we have to send you Aeri." His voice was completely emotionless and remorseless, as he took his place again, exactly opposite of me. I felt the warmth of his mechanical leg creeping up to my cold feet.

"It's too cold! What do you want me, to die?"

"Then we'll have no food and no money." He was trying to make her guilty, I noticed, but she wouldn't budge. Maybe he knew how Seung behaved, maybe Ashe too, but I didn't know how he behaved.

"I'll go out, then." I said and they all looked at me. Ashe was drinking her coffee, so when I spoke up, some of the now lukewarm liquid ran down her chin and on to her black pullover. Aeri was about to fall off her chair and Seung just looked merely disappointed. Isn't this how he always looks like? They're all too familiar to their normal and calm selves, it's pretty strange to think about it. Why are they all the same and I'm different?

Ashe was the first to speak. "You can't _it is too dangerous_ especi-"

"But, the machine didn't recognize me."

"But we don't want to use you for that special ability you've got, Maia." Seung explained, then looked at Aeri, who seemed merely confluzzed. "We wanted, as a team, to develop your inherited skills in coding. That's what _somebody_ was supposed to be doing."

Ashe looked around her, she was the one being mentioned. "What? I was busy!"

"Doing nothing, as usual."

"You do nothing too, Seung." Aeri instantly jumped to the defense of Ashe, making him roll his eyes. Honestly, these two, as a couple, whenever the one faced the truth the other would defend, he had told me. 

"I am the one that does the thinking you two are incapable of doing." The room fell in silence. He just implied they were mindless - they were _stupid._ Honestly, I felt a little bit too much. I didn't want to witness or be dragged into this conversation, so, I'll do what I know best.

I faked a coughing fit, coughing onto my fist, making Aeri turn around. "Ew, sick on holidays. Go to your room, we'll check up on you _later._ " And the permission to go to my room was given, but they didn't suspect a thing! Great, it went all according to plan. I'd get them their stuff and they'd be happy, even though this was internal conflict and couldn't be solved that easily, but hey, I ought to do something for them to ease this rage between the couple and Seung.

I ran upstairs, the room still humid. The wooden steps creaked and some water dripped from the ceiling. I opened the painted white door and quickly closed it, then chose out what I was going to wear, since the weather was still bad. Snow had stopped for a few hours after I woke up yesterday, but today it just seems to get worse and worse. It was ice yesterday, but now it's pure snow, just like when I ran away.

I picked out a pink woolen scarf and a black beanie, then got a embroided coat - honestly, it looks like it had been sewed over, since there were multiple patches on it - and quickly put it on, buttoned it up, then tried to pry the window open.

It was hard at first, really hard, but at the end I managed to push back the pure black steel of my small window, revealing the road to victory, not literally. The space was a little bit small, but I was small too, so I could fit. Even though right now I looked like a fluffy ball, but I could jump out of it.

Reverse countdown. The window had some snow on it. _Three._

My arms go out of the window, so does my upper body. It's way too narrow, but I think I can do it. Just like last time. _Two._

Then, my lower body, the hardest part. I had to shake myself a little bit to go out, but I managed it! I clawed at the windows sill to not fall, ensuring that I'd either fall on my butt or on my feet. _One!_

My frost bitten and little fingers let go of the marble windows sill.


End file.
